The562’s coverage of tennis is sponsored by the Long Beach State Tennis Boosters.
The Long Beach boys’ tennis season is underway and the Wilson boys’ tennis program is excited to be back on the court after claiming their first CIF Southern Section title last year.
The Bruins are ready to make another run at the Moore League title while also looking to repeat as CIF-SS champions. However, the road will look different for Wilson as they have moved up from Division 4 to Division 2. The Bruins are hoping to win back-to-back league titles this year for the first time in a decade.
Coach Nick Medina is looking forward to continuing to improve with his young team and put them in a position to compete regardless of the division – but the Moore League title is first.
Juniors Douglas Smith and Leo Bauch are expected to be the team’s top singles and the doubles duo of Luke Emigh and Jake Paiva have moved from the line two to the top spot this season.
“The boys are having a great preseason,” Medina said. “And I’m lucky to have a group that wants to improve as much as they do.”
Millikan returns Moore League champion Nolan Alvarez and is looking to make a run at the Moore League title.
“Looking forward to seeing the work the boys have put in this season and see how it translates in competition,” Millikan coach Devin Bowler said. “Last year we had a lot of players who made the jump from JV to varsity so we kinda had a lack of confidence.”
Bowler expects to see those players have more confidence this season.
With Alvarez, Eric Carranza will be one of the top singles competitors for the Rams, while the top doubles duo will be Kaden Serdengacti and Harrison Bruechert.
For Long Beach Poly, the Jackrabbits welcome back their top two singles Markus Matiauda and Elijah Wong – who will also look to defend their Moore League doubles title from last season.
Coach Ricardo Montecinos says the team will return Joseph Fayette, Jack Park, Harrison Aramus, and he expects freshman Andrew Guerrero to make an impact.
At Lakewood it will be a youth movement as freshman Trey Cayunda will lead the Lancers this season as the team’s No. 1 singles competitor.
Along with Cayunda, Patrix Sourn will be back as the team’s No. 2 singles player and coach Tom McNamee expects their tournament experience to help guide a young varsity team.
McNamee is looking forward to build a foundation for the program with some new faces, but will look to Nick Sanchez and Abraham Avelor to anchor the doubles.
“We are looking to gain experience and grow as a team,” McNamee said. “Our sights may be to the future, but we feel we can compete this year as well.”
On the Northside, coach Jerome Arzout leads a Jordan team that’s in a rebuilding phase, but after not being able to field a full team last season, the Panthers have numbers and the team will be made up of freshmen and sophomores with bright futures.
Senior Jorge Cuevos will be a veteran on the team and is the No. 1 singles player. The sophomore duo of Isaac Navarro and Martin Santiago will lead the doubles and Arzout looks forward to seeing how the duo continues as the season progresses.
Arzout also expected Junior Santiago to surprise as a freshman and he will be versatile in playing singles or doubles.
“The reminder of Panther tennis is learning the basics and fundamentals,” Arzout said.
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